I want to start this out by clarifying that I love Halo. If I did not, I would not be taking the time to sit here and write this. To give a summary of my issue, I am an extremely disappointed customer.
I'll start at the beginning. I bought Halo: Combat Evolved when it came out. I can't even begin to detail the joy I received from that game. I spent countless hours playing multiplayer and I have no idea how many times I have beaten the campaign. I spent hours upon hours playing through, finding all of the shortcuts, trying to find everything I could. I could probably draw a map of the whole game from memory. Halo was amazing.
I started reading the books, and was enthralled with the great depth in which the Halo universe had been laid out. It was a "new Star Wars" in my eyes. There were seemingly infinite possibilities.
Then Halo 2 came out. It had it's problems, we all know that. I don't need to go into those. The multiplayer made up for all of it though. I once again, spent more hours than I could count on another Bungie game, and proudly. Halo didn't (and still doesn't) have a very good rap with hardcore pc gamers. I defended Halo at every turn. I bought the limited edition of the game and a t-shirt, that, up until recently, I have proudly worn.
Halo 3. At this point I worked at a video game store. Halo 3 launch night was one of the most exciting times of my life. I excitedly purchased the legendary edition and for a month after Halo 3 came out, 5 nights a week there were between 8 and 16 people at my home playing Halo 3 over LAN until the sun rose. Everything that was wrong with Halo 2 had been fixed. I had not one complaint. When the idea of Forge had been announced, I almost wet myself. Halo 3 was, in my eyes, a pinnacle of console gaming. I had spent years waiting for it, and I felt as though it had delivered on every expectation I had and then some. I couldn't have been happier with the series. For some time I actually deliberated getting a Halo related tattoo. That's how influential this game had become to me. I felt like the series was part of me. It had dug itself a small soft spot in my heart close to the level that memories of my childhood were held in.
Then came ODST. I was initially excited about the idea. It was a new direction for the series that meant so very much to me. I was very pleased about the fact that the game was slated to sell for $40 as well. "Finally," I thought, "a company who is not going to charge a full games price for a 5 hour campaign." Then the price went up to $60. I cringed a small amount and paid for it, still expecting a Halo quality game. Once I felt the full effect of the game, it felt like a kick in the testicles. I wondered "Why did the release this?" Firefight was fun, admittedly, but the campaign felt as though it had been slapped together in a rush just to put something out. I felt nothing while playing through the campaign. Any sense of "epic" was far from what I felt.
Then Reach was announced. I felt a slight ping of hope and joy, as I had read the book "Reach" and thought it would have made a fantastic game. As the rumors poured in, my excitement grew. Then I saw the teaser trailer. Something about it felt wrong. The characters seemed so... corny. I pushed the thought back in my mind. I played the Beta, and still walked away somewhat bewildered. I loved the ideas, but it still didn't feel right. When Reach came out, I was unemployed and could not afford to purchase the game. My brother, on the other hand, had purchased the game on launch night, as had been a tradition for the two of us. I watched my brother play through the campaign. The only feelings I had through out the campaign, much to my dismay, were horror and revulsion. If ODST was a kick in the testes, Reach was the curb stomp. The campaign felt so unbelievably uninspired and hollow. The characters were a level of corny that paralleled Call of Duty 3. The game felt like it had been developed for children, who couldn't care less for quality characters and well written stories. It felt like it was geared towards the same markets as "Date Movie" and "Epic Movie". It felt as though it were developed for people who were 5 years old or younger while I was no-scoping my friends on Damnation on Halo: Combat Evolved.
And then there were the discrepancies from the book. I understand that some things probably had to be changed for one reason or another. Those things happen, and I wont try to say that I know your jobs well enough to say what did and didn't have to be changed, but really? It didn't even feel like there was effort to adhere to the story line. Not an ounce. What had so much epic potential, turned out to be the most underwhelming campaign I had experienced in my entire life. There have been much worse, but NEVER from a company that I had so much faith in.
Forge world was amazing. That feature of the game was most of what drove me to purchase it. Everything that we could have asked for was given. But then I saw that some of the maps that shipped with the game had been made on Forge World. I understand if it was intended to show what great things could be done with the tool, but honestly, it just felt lazy to me. The "remake" of Sanctuary was especially painful. Why not just legitimately remake the level? I felt as though it was another studio with a case of the typical Activision "It doesn't matter if we half-ass it because everyone's going to buy it anyways" syndrome. Not to mention that of course, already, there is another map pack out that we have to purchase. Were those levels really not ready in time for the shipping of the game? Or is it easier to ship a game with less maps and then release map packs for $10 a couple of months later? Unfortunately for my pride, I will probably purchase it to keep up with my friends who play online.
The guns. Oh my God the guns. I haven't sat down and counted, but are there less? What happened to the Mauler? Spiker? Spike grenades? The Covenant sniper rifle?! Why? DMR? What is that and why has it replaced the Battle Rifle?
I was under the impression that this would be the last game of the Halo series. Unfortunately, I am hoping that it is. I don't know that I could bear to see another game of this quality shipped under the Halo name.
Every day in the office I work at, there are people playing video games. Reach is one of the more popular. Every time I walk by the game (which is every week day), I feel a slight ping of what feels like betrayal, and what saddens me most, is a feeling of loss. I feel as though I lost something that was very dear to me. Worse than Star Wars fans felt when Episode One was released. This whole thing may seem ridiculous, but Halo: Combat Evolved and the two following games really impacted my life that much. I now have less enthusiasm for gaming, and in light of the look of the industry in general these days, am considering giving it up. Everything is so cut throat and soulless nowadays. I hate to see that Bungie has joined the ranks of the rest of them. Please Bungie, for the gaming world in general, save us.
-A once enthused and loyal customer, Cody.